in a shifting fog-sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't. Theshape of community ultimately depends on how you define the term"(p. 14). Hine's definition is unclear, but scattered comments expressthe idea that community was more than cooperation, neighborliness,fraternalism, or human kindness. It involved shared values and needs,attachment to a locale, and a willingness to sacrifice self for the greatergood of the group. Usually, but not always, the number of people in-volved was small.Hine, who has written about California utopias and about the fron-tier, examines through secondary sources the spectrum of such com-munities and finds that most were of short duration. They died be-cause of economic adversity, incursions of the outside society, mobilityof participants, changes in leadership, and internal dissension. Com-munity spirit was fragile and subject to paradoxical situations. Reli-gion, for example, was a strong cohesive force until there arose doc-trinal differences. Then religion became destructive to community life.Moreover, the frontier, where land was cheap and available, providedat the same time a common hardship to bring people together, and anopportunity for personal profit that drove people apart.In this competent survey Hine demonstrates in reverse manner thepower of individualism. Community spirit, although perennial, wasdelicate and died quickly in the frosts of hardship and dissent. Self-interest appeared much more durable. Yet, as Hine concludes, knowl-edge of efforts to gain the spirit of community on the American fron-tier might be helpful in a world in which cooperation is necessary.Colorado State University DAVID MCCoMBLaw for the Elephant: Property and Social Behavior on the OverlandTrail. By John R. Reid. (San Marino, Calif.: The HuntingtonLibrary, 1980. Pp. x+437. Foreword, introduction, illustrations,acknowledgements, copyright acknowledgement, short title list,index. $18.50.)The story of the overland trail has long fascinated historians of theAmerican West. The human saga of the mass movement across theplains has been told in hundreds of books to suit the tastes of scholarsand those just interested in the drama of this great event. Nor doesthere appear to be an end to the stream of volumes on the subject. In1979 three very important books were published: John D. Unruh, Jr.,The Plains Across: The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi

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